Life Inbetween
by Lynabelle
Summary: Snippets of the time between the last chapter and the epilogue of DH. Chapter 4; George goes out drinking with Lee, Oliver, Katie, Alicia, Angelina, and Harry.
1. Katie

**A/N: This is actually a plot that's been bouncing in my head for awhile. It actually spawned one of my drabble series, 'The War'. So, my computer crashed awhile ago and I lost the little I had written for this plot bunny. I do feel a plot fleshed out that I'll be trying to explore with this, so this'll be a bit different from my other series. Updates will probably be chaotic and length will likely vary. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. **

"How have you been lately, Harry?" Katie Bell asked before tipping back her firewhiskey. Harry had to appreciate that she didn't say it in the way most others did, either overly concerned or wanting something from him.

"You want the truth or the polite response?" He replied only half joking. He finished the last of his second drink and the bartender had it replaced before Harry could even open his mouth to ask. Apparently there are advantages to his current fame and good favor with the wizarding public.

"On the house, Mr. Potter. Least I can do." The bartender said before going to serve another patron.

"Free firewhiskey, nice. And just give me whatever response you want, I plan to get completely pissed anyway. Have at me, Potter, dish out that imfamous temper of yours." Katie said, her slurring giving away that she's probably already well on her way to getting pissed.

"I've mostly been feeling tired, of everything. It seems like there's nothing left for me now." He took a large gulp of his drink, enjoying the burn that made it's way down his throat. At it was something to feel.

"What? Now that You-Know-Who is dead you've got nothing left in life? Bullshit, Potter. Find some other goal in life besides dark lord killing. Merlin."

"And what about you? I'm not the only one getting drunk alone in a bar." Harry replied testily.

"I knew you still had some of that nasty temper! And somebody I know is always here, a lot people are looking for answers in a bottle these days. Today, you're my drinking buddy." Katie replied with a large drunken smile. She finished off her drink with a gulp and a yell, "To drinking buddies!" A few of the other patrons cheered and toasted to that.

"To drinking buddies." Harry said, lifting his glass in Katie's direction.


	2. Three Sheets to the Wind

"Potter, fancy seeing you twice in a week." Harry jumped and whirled around to see Katie Bell smirking behind him not even two feet away.

"Merlin, Katie, don't do that!" He said, glaring at her. He turned back around and continued walking down Diagon Alley, not in the mood for conversation.

"Sorry, Harry." She replied falling in place beside Harry. He sighed.

"Look, I'm not in the mood for chit-chat-"

"Never said I was either, Potter. I was hoping you'd be able to tell me how George is. No one's seen much of him lately and none of us want to just show up at the Burrow, we figured he's there. You're close to the Weasleys, right? Can you tell me anything? We've been worried." Katie cut it, pulling Harry to side of the street.

"Who's us?" He asked, shrugging her hand off his shoulder.

"Me, Lee Jordan, Angelica, Alica, even Wood. We run into each other now and again but none of us have seen George since the funeral. We're worried."

"You didn't ask about him Tuesday at the pub." Harry pointed out, crossing his arms.

"I was drinking on Tuesday, Harry. I was three sheets to the wind before you even showed up." Katie said, glaring a bit at him.

"He lost his brother, he lost Fred, how do you expect him to be?"

"I know, I'd like to try and help him, or at least be someone to drink with. We all want to be there for him."

"He's- you would hardly know he's George Weasley. I've been staying at the Burrow and I hardly see him." Harry said, uncrossing his arms and sticking his hands in his pockets.

"You should try to get him to come out some night. We can all get drunk together. Gryffindor Quidditch team reunion." Katie said suddenly, with a bit more excitement than Harry thought necessary.

"Except for Fred."

"He'll be there in spirit. He loved parties and firewhiskey. Try to convince George, Harry, please?"

"I'll try." He promised. "I don't know how well he'll listen, but I'll try."


	3. George

**A/n: I'm back! :) I hope you enjoy this chapter**

**Disclaimer: I don't own**

Harry took a deep breathe and squared his shoulders for the battle he was about to face. He took another breathe, raised his hand, prepared himself, and-

"What you doing, mate?" And almost jumped out of his skin when Ron suddenly spoken up behind him.

"Don't- do that, Ron!" Harry said, trying to calm his racing heart.

"Sorry," Ron replied with a shrug of his shoulders, " So, why are you looking at th- George's door like it's going to attack you?" They both pretended not to notice his almost slip.

"I ran into Katie Bell the other day. She asked me to convince George to come out sometime with all his old friends." Harry replied grimly.

"Good luck with that, Harry." Ron said, taking off up the stairs to his room.

"Thanks for all the help, Ron." Harry muttered sarcastically before staring at the door to George's room again.

"Harry? Alright there?" Harry sighed before turning to face Percy.

"Can't go two minutes without running into a Weasley, can't I?" Harry mumbled under his breathe.

"Well, there is quite a few of us." Percy replied.

"Uh, sorry. Didn't mean for you to hear that. " Harry said.

"It's fine. Why were you staring at George's door?" Percy asked, gesturing with his hand at the door.

"Katie Bell, she was on the Griffindor Quidditch team with me and George, wants me to convince George to go out drinking or something her and some of his other friends, sometime soon. They haven't seen him in a long time and they're worried." Harry replied, as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? He doesn't like being around people very right now and being there might remind him-"

"I know, but he can't hide from the world forever. And they're his friends, and they're worried about him." Harry interrupted. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. " I know he's hurt and grieving, but if nothing ever comes after that, they all died for nothing."

"I know that, Harry. But everyone grieves in their own way." Percy replied, pushing his glasses up to rub his eyes.

"And sometimes people need a push. I know now that I did sometimes, and maybe George does too. It's been five months, Percy. There needs to be a life after the war, or everything we went through was for nothing."

"Maybe George just needs space. Fred and George were so close, Harry, half the time I didn't even bother to think of them as separate people. He needs time to grieve."

"He can grieve with other people, Percy! He can let his friends know how he's doing instead of letting them worry for who knows how long!"

"I can hear you two. The walls aren't soundproof." A hoarse voice said behind Harry. George was standing in the doorway, wearing a stained shirt and pajama pants. He scratched his chin, which was covered in several days' worth of stubble, and glared at them.

"George! I'm- uh-" Percy stuttered.

"It's fine. I've caught Mum and Dad doing it a few times too. Katie asked you about me?" George said, directing his question to Harry.

"Uh, yeah, she said that she, Lee, Angelina, Alicia, and Wood have all been worried about you. And that they would like to get together for a drink some time with you." Harry replied, his eyes darting anywhere but George.

"I don't think I'm up to that." George said.

"Just come out for a drink, George. Please."

"I'll-uh- think about it." George went back in his room and shut the door behind him. Harry gave Percy a look and then went downstairs. Percy continued to stare in disbelief at George's door.


	4. Drunken Happenings

"I don't really want to be here, Harry. I think I better head home, don't want to bring everyone down." George said, shifting nervously from one foot to the other while Harry scanned the wizarding pub looking for the others they were meeting there.

"I'm under strict orders to keep you here until everyone sees you, George. Lee said he hasn't seen you in a month, George. Look, there they are." Harry nudged George towards the table with Lee Jordan, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, Oliver Wood, and Alicia Spinnet.

"Look, I haven't felt like going out or anything lately, alright?" George snapped to Harry as they made their way over to the others.

"Everyone gets that, George. But we don't want to lose you as well." Harry muttered back as they got to the table.

"There you are. Saved you two chairs. I'll go get us a round of fire whiskey. Got to start this night off right, yeah?" Lee said with a wink as he got up and went to the bar.

"It's good to see you, George. You too, Harry." Angelina greeted.

"Hullo." George replied, sitting down.

"Good to see you, Angelina." Harry said. Everyone muttered greetings to each other and then the table descended into silence.

"So, how drunk are we getting tonight, ladies and gents?" Lee asked jokingly as he sat everyone's drinks on the table.

"Let's just how the night goes." Alicia replied with a smile.

* * *

"WOO-HOO!" Katie yelled as Oliver and George both chugged their drinks. George slammed his glass on the table and Oliver followed a split second behind.

"You lose, Wood!" Angelina shouted at him.

"He cheated!" Oliver exclaimed, clumsily pointing at George.

"How'd I cheat?" George demanded.

"You did! I know it! You're sneaky, like- like- a snake!" Oliver cried.

"A snake?! I ain't no snake!" The redhead exclaimed, stumbling over to Oliver.

"He's right! I know he isn't a snake! Can't keep that from your best mate." Lee said, nodding erratically.

"I dunno, I was nearly a snake, but no one knows that anymore." Harry added from across the table.

"How can you be nearly a snake?" Katie asked, shifting herself to face Harry.

"I ain't a snake!" George cried again. Everyone turned to face and stared blankly at him for a moment before turning back to whatever they were doing before.

"The Hat wanted me to be a snake, but I said no, I'd rather not." Harry told Katie before collapsing in giggles.

"We should go to my flat! It'd a real party!" Angelina exclaimed to the group as she stood up suddenly and knocked her chair over.

"PARTY!" Katie yelled in agreement.

"Yay!" Alicia cried.

"How will we get there?" Lee asked.

"We floo!" Angelina answered loudly, as she pulled a bag of floo powder from somewhere.

"Huzzah!" George exclaimed.

They all stumbled over to the bar's fireplace, passed around the floo powder, and one by one flooed to Angelina's flat.

"Who's up for more fire whiskey?" Angelina asked before stumbling into the kitchen part of the room and pulling two bottles of fire whiskey out of a cabinet.

* * *

"ONE"

"FOUR"

"SEVEN"

"I WIN!" Alicia yelled, She chugged some of her drink and leapt from the couch to arm chair, knocking into Lee.

"NO WAY, I WIN!" George yelled.

"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!" Angelina's upstairs neighbor yelled before they heard a broom banging into the floor. They all collapsed. laughing, to the floor.

* * *

"Come on, Potter, you're famous, you're telling me you've only kissed two girls?" Oliver asked skeptically.

"Yeah, had other things to I to focus on." Harry replied. Katie laughed and leaned over him to take the last bottle of fire whiskey.

"Yeah, yeah, hero of world, we know." Katie said, not unkindly.

"No random girls, drunken encounters, nothing?" George asked over dramatically, like he couldn't imagine a worst fate.

"Nope." Harry said, stealing the fire whiskey back from Katie and taking a drink.

* * *

"I remember how you guys keep switching off during the Yule Ball. Me and Alicia had no idea who we were dancing with anytime since we could never trust you to be telling us the truth." Angelina said, smiling, to George. He grinned and put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her over to him, and then stole the bottle of fire whiskey from her.

"Good times." George said smiling.

"I miss Fred." Alicia said. Everyone got very quiet and the mood turned solemn for the first time that night.

Lee snagged the bottle of whiskey, there was just a little bit left, raised it high and said, "To Fred, the life of the party. A great friend." He took a swig before passing the bottle to Katie.

"Fred, he could make you laugh even when you're about to break down and cry your eyes out." She drink a bit and then passed the bottle to Oliver.

"To a good Quidditch player and a great man." He took a drink and passed the fire whiskey to Harry.

"To Fred, the world needs people like him." Harry gulped some whiskey and then passed it to Alicia.

"Fred, a great snog and a even better friend." She said before taking a drink and passing the bottle to Angelina.

"To Fred, I wish he were here." Angelina drank before passing it to George.

"Fred, he is- was my best friend. I think I'm missing half myself without him." George drank the rest of the bottle before setting it on the coffee table. "He'd probably wish we weren't so solemn talking about him though."

There was a bit of silence before Katie spoke up, "How many of you remember when he and George dyed the Quidditch balls neon pink?"

"Said it would playing the game easier and that neon pink is a perfectly wonderful color." Angelina added. They all laughed, fondly thinking of that incident.

"We were so lucky we got it reverse before any other teams had practice." Oliver said. Everyone laughed, the solemn mood lifted.


	5. Gin-Gin

**A/n: I'm a horrible updater. I'm sorry. **

"Hey, George, had a good night out?" Ginny asked her brother. She sat down next to George on the bench out in the Burrow's garden.

"You've already heard about it from Harry, I'd wager." He replied with a very slight teasing grin.

Ginny bumped his shoulder and replied, "Nah, Harry's not one to spill details. All I know is that you guys got very drunk."

George laughed out loud at that, "That would be an understatement, sister dear."

Ginny laughed as well. She didn't normally think that drinking was a good solution to problems, but George's night out had done him wonders. He was smiling, laughing even. He was interacting with the people around him again. Ginny hoped that one day he might even start playing jokes again.

"Are you going to be seeing them again sometime soon?" She asked George.

"I dunno, maybe."

"You should. You seem a lot happier since you went out and got plastered with them." Ginny told him. He quirked a smile at her.

"Why, Ginny, are you encouraging me to go out and get plastered?" George said in an exaggerated tone of voice.

She laughed and replied in the same exaggerated voice, "No, never, why would I ever encourage such scandalous behavior? Especially since you seem to involve my boyfriend in such things!"

"I involve him? Never! He involved me!" George continued in the same voice before breaking into soft laughter. Ginny broke character and collapsed into laughter with him. Eventually, they stopped laughing even though they kept the grins on their faces.

"I've missed you, George." Ginny said softly. George's grin faded for a moment, until he looked back at Ginny with a small smile.

"I've missed you too, Gin-Gin." He replied.


End file.
